1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bed liners of the kind now commonly used for the beds of pick-up trucks, and more particularly to a bed liner having provision for selectively restraining cargo at predetermined locations in the bed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bed liners have been developed primarily to solve the problem of wear-and-tear damage to the bed of pick-up trucks. These bed liners are typically made of a rubber type material and are structured to cover the floor and side-walls of the bed. The theory of operation is that by covering the otherwise exposed surfaces of the bed with a thick, resilient material, then abrasion of the painted surface of the metal will be eliminated and denting will be minimized.
In the prior art these are proposed various bed liner structures directed to solving the aforesaid wear-and-tear problems associated with the beds of pick-up trucks. The following are examples of such structures. U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,863 dated Jan. 20, 1981 to Carter discloses a pick-up truck bed liner having a resilient core and is attachable to the bed side-walls by releasable means, such as a dual lock fastening system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,678 dated Jun. 8, 1982 to Munoz et al discloses a multiple piece bed liner, composed of pieces for each side-wall and the floor, so as to facilitate easy-to-handle shipment to end users.
A further important problem associated with the use of beds of pick-up trucks is that original equipment manufacturers do not provide for means of securing cargo in the bed. Consequently, the user of the vehicle is generally left without remedy when his cargo is slidable or otherwise movable on the bed floor. It is well known that stops and turns exert potentially enormous inertial forces on the cargo which can have disastrous effect if the cargo is allowed to shift unchecked in the pick-up truck bed.
In the prior art these are proposed various structures directed to solving the aforesaid cargo restraint problems associated with the beds of pick-up trucks. The following are examples of such structures. U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,785 dated Mar. 3, 1981 to Bronstein discloses an edge protector on the longitudinal side-walls of the bed and tabs thereon for securing a rope which laces across the bed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,376 dated Jul. 14, 1981 to Hunter discloses a longitudinally adjustable cargo restraint system in which a transverse board may be selectively clamped along longitudinal rails attached to the floor of the bed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,033 dated Mar. 26, 1985 to Boyd discloses a load securing apparatus for a pick-up truck bed having a longitudinally adjustable clamping system located on the top of the longitudinal side-walls which cooperates with a transversely oriented board located in the bed. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,298 dated Jan. 5, 1988 to Bott discloses a cargo restraint system for pick-up trucks utilizing a pair of longitudinal adjustable clamping devices attached to the bed floor; or, alternatively, to the floor panel of a bed liner. A transverse board in the bed cooperates with the clamping devices.
In each of the cargo restraint devices enumerated above, there remains a host of problems. The device of Bronstein only secures loads in the vertical dimension. The devices of Hunter, Boyd and Bott each utilize expensive longitudinal clamping devices which are subject to binding because components must be slid along rails. Indeed, the devices of Boyd and Bott suffer additionally from the fact that their rails must intrude into the bed from the floor, thereby being subject to damage from loads or, possibly even worse, themselves damaging delicate cargo since the floor is not level wherever the rails are located.
It would be particularly desirable to provide a combination of a bed liner having all the advantages outlined above with an inexpensive, fully functional cargo restraint system. Although Bott alludes to the concept of utilizing a bed liner in combination with a cargo restraint system, his vision suffers from the problem of the impracticality of locating a longitudinal clamping system intrusively on the bed floor. Accordingly, what is needed is a bed liner which incorporates a cargo restraint system which does not suffer from any of the aforesaid problems encountered in prior art solutions.